Now We're Talking!

I had a good evening in the shop. Even after going to the gym! Usually my gym nights make for slow shop nights. I felt good, however, and got some cool stuff done.

Craft paper micarta, ready to go. Look close...alternating layers of white and black. The base layer is actually three layers of black. That will give a bolder line on the inside of the handle once this gets put onto a knife. A little under 3/16" thick, and 5-3/8" square.

I Did a Bad Job With Pictures

I don't know why, but I thought I took more pictures than I actually did today. Ah, well...I can still get the point across.

I got the burlap/blue linen Paring knife done today.

Today's Progress

The rest of my day...

Primary task was to get the permanent table top for the lathe done.

First Lathe Parts

I will have to do a more in depth look at my new lathe...just not today. I wanted to get the replacement dimple die going first. I believe that some time in the next week or so, I'll go through the whole machine and cover it hear. Let's look at this die..

 

First step was to make the male portion of the die. Here, I am turning the OD down from 1.250 to 1.125. This was not actually necessary in the grand scheme of things. I was doing it to get a feel for the machine. From here, I need to turn one end down to .375" then add a tapered shoulder. I had oily hands...so I missed most of the pictures. Like I said, we'll get more in depth later this week. This was a matter of getting the part made.

I Can Finally Make Round Stuff!

st.That's right! Round stuff! Turning is now on my list of at-home activities. No more taking round stuff to work to do during my break!
My 7" x 16" lathe arrived from thelittlemachineshop.com today. I'm pretty excited. As machines go, it is small...but there are smaller ones. I haven't had the time or inclination to finish my Southbend (which will happen eventually) so I figured a new 7" lathe would be a good addition to my shop.

One quick thing before we get to the turny machine thingy...

I pulled this out of the micarta press this morning. It just needs a trim. I think it will make a way cooler knife handle than dress shirt!!